AFTER

ask after sb I spoke to James today. He was asking after you.

She rang earlier and asked after you, so I told her you were quite fine.

get after You should get after them to finish the building on time.
Get after him Ahmed and tell him not to wait for us.

go after sb She left the room in tears so I went after her.

look after sb/sth If you look after your clothes, they last a lot longer.
Don't worry about me—I can look after myself (= I don't need any help)
Who's going to look after the children while you're away?

name after She was named after her grandmother.

pick up after Don’t expect me to always pick up after you!

run after The police ran after the suspect and caught him.

take after sb Peter’s very tall - he takes after his father.

Erika takes after her mother with her bad temper.

AHEAD
get ahead She wants to get ahead in her career.
The best way to get ahead is through hard work.

go ahead Go ahead. ‘I won’t interrupt again.

Go ahead and eat before everything gets cold.

look ahead We are trying to look ahead and see what our options are.
Looking ahead, I think the company needs to develop some new services.

think ahead I’m thinking ahead to the next meeting.

Just concentrate on what you’re doing now and try not to think too far ahead.

Apart
come apart It came apart when I tried to lift it.

drift apart We were great friends at school but drifted apart soon after.

fall apart My car is falling apart. Their marriage finally fell apart.

pull apart A fight broke out and it was hard to pull the people involved apart.
It pulled me apart to see her dying. (makes me feel very sad)

set apart The quality of our work sets us apart form our competitors.
I like to set apart a couple of hours each week to write my journal

take apart He took the laptop apart to see where the problem was. (Dismantle)
He took the English defence apart, scoring three goals in the first half.
In his speech he took the opposition apart. (criticize heavily)

tell apart I can’t tell the two sisters apart.

ALONG
come along We were just standing talking when Jamie came along.
 Pete came along in his car and offered us a lift.
We're going to the cinema. Do you want to come along?
Come along - we don't want to be late!
Your French has come along a lot recently.

get along What’s the real problem? Why don’t you get along?
I don’t get along with my cousin.
How’s the project getting along?
How are you getting along with this tough situation?

go along Everything was going along just fine until she turned up!

play along I know you don't like Jack's idea, but just play along with him for a while.

Around
ask around I have no idea, but I’ll ask around at work.
I asked around, but nobody had seen him for days.

come around It took me several hours to came around after the operation.
She hasn’t come around yet.
He’ll come around to my point of view eventually.

fool around The professor was sad because the class were fooling around.
Will you stop messing around and get on with some work?

get around She gets around with the help of a stick.

News soon got around that he had resigned.
Stuart really gets around—last week he was in Dubai and this week he's in Paris.
She knows how to get round her dad.

go around Why do you always go around barefoot?

pass around Can you pass these pictures around for everyone to look at, please?

play around Stop playing around and get on with your homework!
Her husband is always playing around.

run around I’ve been running around all day. ( busy doing a lot of different things)

shop around If you shop around, you can find some good prices for laptops.

show around The estate agent showed me around the flat.

Let me know when you're coming to Cambridge and I'll show you around.

sit around Are we going to sit around all night, or shall we go out?

talk around He just kept talking around the subject and didn't tackle the main issues.
We should stop talking around the issue and concentrate on finding a solution.
I think I can talk them around. (Persuade)

At
aim at The negotiations are aimed at achieving a lasting peace between the two sides.
The product is aimed principally at women.
get at His manager is always getting at him for being late.
Why are you always getting at me?
What do you think she is getting at?
It’s on the top shelf and she can’t get at it.

grasp at She grasped at his shirt as he ran past.

Certainly if the job were offered me I'd grasp at the chance.
Many people jump at the chance to work overseas

keep at Come on, keep at it, you've nearly finished!

The secret of dieting is to keep at it.
Stick at it and you'll get better and better.

play at The kids have been playing at Doctors and Nurses all afternoon.

talk at You can’t have a real conversation with him—he just talks at you all the time.

Away
back away They backed away when the man pulled a knife.

blow away He grabbed a gun and blew the thief away. The flag blew away in the storm.

break away They broke away from the Socialist Party.

do away with The UK did away with the death penalty a long time ago.

drive away I heard him drive away

Your attitude drives customers away.

drop away The number of infected people has begun to drop away. (Become smaller)

frighten away Be quiet or you’ll frighten the deer away.

get away I’m sorry. I was stuck at work and couldn’t get away.
Don't be tempted to cheat—you'll never get away with it.
I love to get away from everything and relax in the woods.

give away I decided to give my old phone away.

His wife gave him away to the police.

go away This pill should make the pain go away.

Go away and leave me alone!

keep away There are a notice warning people to keep away from the edge of the cliff.
Her illness kept her away from work for several weeks.

pack away We packed away the summer clothes.

pass away His mother passed away last year.

put away I'm just going to put the car away (= in the garage).
The judge decided to put them away for five years.
I try to put a little away every month.

run away You can't just run away from the situation.
He ran away from home at the age of thirteen.
slip away This first semester has really slipped away. Pass quickly (time).
Our hopes of getting back into the game slipped away after the third goal.

stay away It’s not safe! Stay away!

You should stay away from this man. He’s dangerous.

take away Two burgers to take away, please.

Take these chairs away - we don't need them.
A few hooligans couldn’t take away from the team’s success.

throw away I don't need ityou can throw it away. That old chair should be thrown away

tow away She parked in a no-parking zone, so they towed her car away.

Back
answer back He was given the chance to answer back in a radio interview.
Stop answering your mother back!

call back She said she'd call back

(ring back) I’m running out of change. Do you think you could call me back?
If you call back in half an hour he should be here.
I called them multiple times. I will try back again later.

come back I’ll come back and pick you up around 8.00.
I’ve just come back from the dentist’s.
Ripped jeans are coming back into fashion.
I thought I had got rid of my cough but it seems to have come back again.
I can’t remember his name now but it’ll come back to me

cut back You smoke far too much. You should cut back.
If you cut back on fat and sugar, you’ll lose weight.
The trees need to be cut back at this time of year.

double back When you get to the roundabout, you need to double back on yourself.

fall back The police fired tear gas into the crowd and they fell back.
It is good to have some savings to fall back on when you need.

fight back Somehow he fought back his anger and remained calm.
The course teaches women how to fight back if attacked.

get back We didn’t get back home until midnight.

What time did you get back last night?
Don’t lend him anything; you won’t get it back!
Get back. Josh, or you’ll get hurt!
I’ll get back to you later this afternoon with more details.
He said he’d get back to me in a couple of days.
To get back to the question of …., there are two matters that concern me.
give back I must give you back that book you lent me.
Nothing could give him his dignity back.

go back When are you going back to Paris?

When do you go back to university?
The schools all go back in the second week of April.
It started to rain, so we decided to go back.
 I’d like to go back to what Abby was saying just a minute ago.
I promised him I’d be there and I don’t like to go back on my promises.

kick back I want to kick back and watch television tonight.

pay back Pay me back another time. I don’t need the money just now.
I’m going to pay him back for all those things he said about me

put back We’ve put the trip back until June now.

set back The incident set the project back several weeks. (Delay)

take back I’ve got to take my library books back before January 25th.
I might take this coat back and get a larger size
I’m sorry. I take back my words.

By
abide by Steve has to abide by what the court says.

come by I’ll come by after work. (Visit)

How did you come by such a beautiful house?

drop by Why don’t you drop by for coffee some time? (make a short visit)

get by We can just about get by with four computers but ideally we’d have another.
I can get by in Italian but I’m by no means fluent.
It’s quite hard to get by on my salary.
Nothing gets by you" = "you notice everything, you are very observant

go by Last month went by so fast.

Don't let those opportunities go by!
Hardly a day goes by when I don't think about her.
I can't just let that remark go by without comment.
Don’t go by what she says – she’s always wrong.

pass by I see them pass by my house every day.

Did you tell me about that? Sorry, it completely passed me by.
The chance for promotion passed me by. Maybe next year…

put by I try to put by a few pounds every week. (save money)

sit by I can't just sit by and watch you waste all our money.

stand by We can’t just stand by and watch her die.

You have to stand by your friends through thick and through thin.
I will stand by you forever. (=support)

stop by I should stop by the restaurant and buy something to eat.

swear by I swear by almighty God that I will tell the truth.

Behind
fall behind He was ill for six weeks and fell behind with his schoolwork.
I've fallen behind on the mortgage payments.

get behind I'm getting behind with my work.

 He got behind with the payments for his car.
All students got behind their professor. (support)

wait behind I waited behind to ask the speaker some questions.

Down
back down Neither side is willing to back down.
She refused to back down on a point of principle.
beat down The sun was really beating down and I couldn’t stay outside anymore.
He wanted $8 000 for the car but I beat him down to $6 000

bed down I had to bed down on the floor that night.

break down My car has broken down and had to be towed to the nearest garage..
Negotiations between the two sides have broken down. (fail)
Firefighters had to break the door down to reach the people trapped inside.
Each lesson is broken down into several units.
She broke down in tears as she spoke to reporters.

calm down Come on, calm down - we can sort it out.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

close down Our local butcher is closing down. Their intention is to close down the factory.

come down The price of computers has come down a lot.

Her temperature is starting to come down at last.
A lot of trees came down in the storm.
The rain came down heavily all day.
The jacket came down almost to his knees.

cool down We had to wait until the engine had cooled down before restarting the car
I left the coffee for a minute to cool down

count down I’m counting down the days till he leaves.

crack down on Police are cracking down on drug dealers.

cut down I’m trying to cut down on salt. You should cut down on sweets.
We need to cut the article down to 1 000 words.
Some trees had been cut down.

fall down I fell down and hurt my knee.

get down She couldn’t get down everything I said. (Write, record.)
You must get your cholesterol levels down.

go down How long will it take for the swelling to go down?

At what time does the sun go down?

let down I won’t let you down on this issue. I promise!

Someone let my tyres down while I was at the gym.

lie down Go and lie down for a while.

I'm so tired - I need to lie down.

look down on She looks down on people who haven't been to college.
mark down She was marked down because of poor grammar.
Use this column to mark down how much each item costs.
All goods have been marked down by 15 per cent.

narrow down We have narrowed down the list to four candidates.

play down The doctor tried to play down the seriousness of my father’s illness.

put down Stop putting yourself down. You’re a very intelligent woman.
Can you put me down by the library?
We’ve put down a deposit on a new car.
I have to put this bag down – it’s too heavy.

for
account for Oh well, that accounts for it (= I understand now why it happened).
A number of factors account for the differences between the two scores.
You have to account for every penny you spend.

allow for ou should allow for the plane being delayed.

We have to allow for the possibility that we might not finish on schedule.

angle for She was angling for sympathy.

answer for This government has a lot to answer for (= is responsible for a lot of bad things).
I can’t answer for my colleagues, but as far as I’m concerned this is a great
proposal.
I can answer for her honesty.

ask for When you arrive, ask for Jane.

A young man was here asking for you this morning.
She's great to work for - I really couldn't ask for a better boss.
You’re really asking for trouble.
I asked for the menu, please.

bargain for We hadn't bargained for this sudden change in the weather.
We hadn't bargained on such a long wait.

be cut out for He's not cut out for teaching.

He's not cut out to be a teacher.
call for The situation calls for prompt action.
‘I've been promoted.’ ‘This calls for a celebration!’
They called for the immediate release of the hostages.
The opposition have called for him to resign.

care for Bob and his sister take turns caring for their elderly mother.

come in for The government's economic policies have come in for a lot of criticism.

fall for I fell for her the moment our eyes met.
I'm surprised you fell for that trick.

fish for I’m not trying to fish for compliments, but do you like my new haircut?

go for She went for him with a knife. (attack)

What I said about Peter goes for you, too.
It sounds a great idea. Go for it!
go in for I don’t go in for golf much.
She's going in for the Cambridge B2 First exam.

live for She lives for her work.

My son lives for sports.

look for I’ve been looking for the document all day.

make for They made for the centre of town.

I made for home when it started snowing.
make up for Nothing can make up for the loss of a child.
Her enthusiasm makes up for her lack of experience.
He bought me dinner to make up for being so late the day before.
I sent them a present to make up for my absence.
I'll make it up to you, I promise.

put in for She put in for a transfer to another department.

Are you going to put in for that job?

root for Good luck—I'm rooting for you!

I’m sure you’ll win. Everyone’s rooting for you.

run for I ran for the bus but it drove off.

Hilary Clinton ran for president in 2016.

send for Do you think we should send for a doctor?

I had to send for a plumber because a pipe was leaking.

send out for There's not much to eat in the fridge. Let's send out for a pizza.

settle for Why settle for second best when you can have something better?
I know it’s not perfect, but you should settle for this phone.

spring for They offered to spring for the tickets.

I will spring for all your medical bills.

stand for I'm not going to stand for that sort of behaviour in my class.
Her behaviour is totally out of order and I'm not going to stand for it.
GMT stands for Greenwich Mean Time.
stand in for Lorraine was ready to stand in if Helen got sick.
I’ll be standing in for Peter while he’s away.

UP
act up My laptop is acting up; I think I might have a virus.
My car is acting up again - I don't know what's wrong with it.
The kids started acting up.

add up I’m not very good at adding up in my head.

Add up all the money I owe you.
His story just doesn't add up.
The total costs of this project add up to several billion euros.

back up Make sure you back up your files.

The writer doesn't back up his opinions with examples.
See if you can back up a bit further. (to make a car go backwards)
Tim backed up without looking and ran over his bicycle.
beat up He claims he was beaten up by the police.
He was badly beaten up by a gang of thugs.

belt up Get in the car and belt up.

Just belt up, will you! (=shut up)

block up The pipe’s blocked up and no water gets through.

My nose is blocked up.
Don't block up the corridor with all these boxes.

blow up The bomb blew up.

A crisis has blown up over the President's latest speech.
The tyre pressure was low, so I blew it up.
Would you help me blow up these balloons?

boil up Could you boil some water up for me?

break up The plate broke up when I dropped it on the floor.

You’re breaking up; I’ll call you back in a few minutes.
The meeting broke up at ten to three. (finished)
The meeting didn’t break up until about two a.m.
Jenny and George have broken up.
Police were called in to break up the fight.

bring up He was brought up by his aunt.

We didn’t bring up the subject at the meeting.

bundle up You’d better bundle up because it’s below freezing outside.

buy up We bought up all the books

call up I can't call her up in the middle of the night. (Telephone)

Call me up any time.

catch up I was ill for a week and now I’ve got to catch up on the work I missed.
She is really fast, and I couldn’t catch up with her.
Go on ahead. I'll catch up with you.

cheer up Cheer up! It's not that bad!

Nothing I could say would cheer her up.
Talking to Jane cheered me up a lot.
clean up I need to change and clean up.
Go and clean yourself up.
You'd better get cleaned up.
Who's going to clean up this mess?
We'll go out as soon as I've cleaned up the kitchen.

clear up I hope it clears up this afternoon.

Let’s hope the weather clears up.
I want to clear up any misconceptions you might still have.
I hope this explanation clears up any confusion.

come up A young girl came up to me and asked for money.

I’ve got to go – something’s just come up at home and I’m needed there.

cut up A black Audi cut me up and I had to brake suddenly to avoid an accident.
change up Change up into fifth.

do up Do up your shoelaces.
You don’t need to do up the top button.
The skirt does up at the back.
draw up I've drawn up a list of candidates that I'd like to interview.
Draw up a chair, and I'll tell you all about it.

dress up There's no need to dress up—come as you are.

He dressed up as a cowboy for the party.

Drink / eat up Drink up and let's go.

Eat up! We've got to go out soon.
Legal costs ate up most of her savings.
A big old car like that eats up petrol.

end up If you go on like this you'll end up in prison.

If he carries on driving like that, he'll end up dead.

fill up That sandwich really filled me up.

I want to fill up the gas tank.

firm up Could we have a meeting so we can firm up the details of our agreement?
The precise details still have to be firmed up.
Put the mixture somewhere cool to firm up.
Brian goes to the gym every day to firm up his body.

follow up Follow up the phone call with a written confirmation.

This meeting is a follow-up to the one we had last month.

gear up Politicians are already gearing up for the election.

speed up I think you need to speed up a bit (= drive faster) - we're going to be late.
The car sped up to 100 mph.

pick up The wind is picking up now.

Sales have picked up 14 per cent this year.
Let's pick up where we left off yesterday.
Whose turn is it to pick the children up after school?
I tried his home number but he didn't pick up.
Out
act out They acted out the story on stage, which was beautiful.
Children's negative feelings often get acted out in bad behaviour.

ask out You should ask her out sometime to the cinema or to lunch.

back out You agreed to come. You can't back out now!
She backed out of the agreement at the very last minute.

bail out The pilot and the passengers bailed out when they saw that engines had failed.
The government had to bail the company out of financial difficulty.

be out She is out for a visit for the day.

I’m out of coffee so I’ll have to go and get some.

black out All of a sudden she blacked out. (faint)

 In the TV interview, they blacked out the victim's face.
The entire city was blacked out overnight.

blank out The screen blanked out.

Some of the names in the report have been blanked out.

block out Black clouds blocked out the sun.

He put his hands over his ears to block out the noise.

blow out The little boy blew the candles out on his birthday cake.

break out Fighting had broken out between rival groups of fans.
Fire broke out during the night.
War broke out in 1914.
Two inmates broke out of prison and are still at large.

call out He used to call out in his sleep.

Don't just call the answers out - raise your hand.

carry out The hospital is carrying out research / tests to find out what's wrong with her.
Our soldiers carried out a successful attack last night.
The study will be carried out over a six-month period.

catch out The exam is designed so as to catch you out. (trick)

cheat out She claimed that her cousin had cheated her out of her inheritance.

check out He checked out and took a taxi to the railway station.

chill out I'm just chilling out in front of the TV.

Chill out, Dad. The train doesn't leave for another hour!

come out The rain stopped and the sun came out.
I tried to say ‘I love you,’ but the words wouldn't come out.
The daffodils came out early this year.
These ink stains won't come out of my dress.
The details came out in press and he had to resign.
After three weeks, he came out of coma.
You come out with some strange comments sometimes!